Lost Memory
by Jexy
Summary: AU story where Myka leaves the warehouse for some personal time after H.G. tries to destroy the world. (She never quit-the Regents told her to take time off) She takes time off but wants to stay close in case she's needed. Myka goes to a small town in Wyoming to check out bookstores and get away from her otherwise crazy life.
1. Chapter 1

I drove up to the hotel and sat there with the engine off. This was a good thing. I needed some personal time away from the warehouse. It was my happiest place but we all need time off from work. If they really need me, they will call. Grabbing my bag, I climbed out of the car and headed inside. It was a nice hotel; the lobby was clean and looked presentable. "How long will you be staying?" A man, probably in his early forties, with brown, graying hair spoke in a British accent. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. Everything seemed to remind me about H.G.

"Two weeks." I handed him my ID and credit card. He took them and raised an eyebrow when he saw my license.

"Oh you work for the Secret Service? Well, we treat our government agents with respect and let them have the nicest suit for a regular room price."

"Thank you." The man typed in my information and gave me a room key. As I headed for the elevator I noticed the room was on the top floor. I hit the golden circled button and rode to the top. When I walked off the elevator, there were only four rooms on the top floor. I found mine and was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the room. It was huge. There was a large living room area with a hot tub of to the side by the large windows. On the other side, there was a small but decent kitchen area. To the right, there was a bedroom with a king sized bed and even larger closet.

I unpacked my bags into the dresser and closet. By the time I was done it was close to dinner time and I really didn't want to leave. All I wanted to do was change into some lounging wear and watch TV. By the phone, I found a room service menu. Luckily, it had Chinese food listed. As I waited for the food to arrive, I flipped through the hundreds of TV and movie channels. When I came onto one of the HBO movie channels they were having a horror marathon. As the movie played I couldn't help but think this is the exact kind of movie Pete and Claudia would love.

The food came and I continued to watch the movie. Around midnight my phone rang and I was happy to see it was Pete. "Hey Pete. How are you?" He hesitated on the phone.

"You sound…cheerful. How's the hotel room?" I tossed the food containers in the trash and turned off the TV.

"It's nice. The presidential suit since I'm Secret Service. They have some special deal or something. I didn't ask questions. I just wanted to get a room and stay in for the night." I paused a moment. "How's the…"

"Everything's fine Mykes. You need to relax and stop worrying about the warehouse. If we need you, we will call you. I promise." We continued to talk for about an hour and then I started to fall asleep. I stretched out and snuggled under the covers. It was one of those beds that you sank into and never wanted to leave.

Annoyingly the next morning I woke up at seven on the spot. I was so used to getting up that time and getting ready for work I couldn't go back to sleep. I needed to break that habit if only for the next two weeks. After taking a shower and getting ready, I decided I better find a grocery store and fill up the fridge while I was here. "Hello Miss. Bering. Hope you enjoyed your first night with us." It was the same man behind the counter as yesterday.

"Hey. Yes I enjoyed it." I walked over to the counter and asked where the nearest grocery store was. And also if there were any bookstores or attractions here.

"Attractions…not really. The grocery store is two blocks east of here and a bookstore is a block west of here. The main things in this town are: the school, grocery store, bookstore, a diner, and this hotel. The rest of the places are really just mom and pop thrifty type shops."

"Well the grocery store and bookstore are the two I need most. Thanks for letting me know." The man said his goodbyes and I was out the door. I'd hit the bookstore first and then the grocery store. When I walked into the bookstore it reminded me a lot of my fathers'. I inhaled deeply and was suddenly calmed by the smell of coffee and books. That was one thing my fathers' shop didn't have was a small coffee bar joining it into the next building.

"Hello there, you must be new." There was an older lady behind the counter. She reminded me of the woman who worked in the bookstore at home.

"Hey. Yes I'm new in town." I walked towards one of the farther shelves.

"If you need any help, just let me know." I smiled at the older woman while I glanced over the shelves. A sharp ping of pain went through my heart when I saw a few H.G. Wells books. I couldn't help but take them in my hands and flip though the pages. As I read sections of the pages I heard Helena's voice speaking them.

"Are you okay?" I jumped when I heard a slightly noisily American accent.

"Yeah, I'm…" I dropped the book and stopped mid sentence when I saw who spoke. "Helena?" The woman looked at me strangely.

"No," she knelt down and grabbed the book. "I'm Emily. You have good taste in literature." She handed me the book back and I just stared. This woman looked exactly like Helena. Though she didn't sound like her nor did she dress like her. She watched me a moment. "You're new in town aren't you?"

"Yes I am. And I'm sorry. You just look a lot like…someone I know." I couldn't help but watch this woman. This Emily wasn't Helena. She didn't have the mystery in her eyes like Helena did but I know this is her body.

"That's no problem. What brought you to our little town?" I had to lean against the bookcase to brace myself against this horrible American accent coming from Helena's…Emily's throat.

"I needed some time off and away from home. I like small towns so I figured I'd come here. Away from work but if I'm needed I can get there in a few hours."

"Very dedicated." I smiled. "Well, I hope you have a nice stay." Emily turned and started to walk away. I had to stop her.

"Would you like to get coffee and talk more?" She paused and turned back towards me. "Besides the guy behind the desk at my hotel, you're the only other person I know."

"Sure." I paid for the few H.G. Wells books that I already had and we went to the joining room where the café' was.

"I'll take a caramel frapp double shot of espresso please. And whatever she's having." " The man took down my order and started to make it. I heard Emily open her mouth but I continued, "Please, no matter what she says I'm buying her coffee." I shot her a playful look as she pouted slightly.

"You didn't have to do that." We sat at a table in one of the corners.

"I know. But I invited you for coffee therefore I'm paying." We talked as we sat and drank our coffee. Emily was a high school English teacher with a specialty in British literature. She lived in a small apartment and had a cat named Dickens. When I started telling her about myself she seemed very interested. I told her I worked for the Secret Service and was one of the people who protected the president. Not a total lie because that was what I did before I came to the warehouse. It really caught her interest when we started talking about literature. When the topic of H.G. Wells was brought up I was happy and sad at the same time.

"I'm teaching a class Monday on H.G. Wells and was wondering if you'd like to drop by and help. The students would find it fun to have someone besides their boring teacher in the room for once." I shook my head with a small smile. Helena G. Wells…boring? Yeah right.

"I would love to." This was a bad idea. This was going to break my heart.

"Do you know where the school is?" She finished her coffee and set the empty cup on the table.

"No I don't. I just know that this store is one block from my hotel and the grocery store is three blocks from here." I finished my cup and stacked them.

"Well I can show you. It's not far from here. It's just about a fifteen or twenty minute drive. You need to go to the grocery store I'm guessing?"

"Yes, I was going to go there after here. Do you think we could get together tomorrow and you show me around town?" I was hoping I didn't just overstep my welcome with this woman. She looked so much like Helena I had to keep telling myself that she doesn't know me.

"That will work." I told her where I was staying. Emily said she would meet me outside the hotel tomorrow around noon. We could grab lunch and then she would show me around.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day I got up and got ready to meet Emily outside the hotel. I didn't tell Pete or Claudia about H.G….or about Emily. As far as they knew I was relaxing in my hotel room surrounded by books. Or I was just living in a bookstore with plenty of coffee. When I saw a small, red Honda, probably a '95 model, pull into the parking lot I pushed myself off the side of the building. I could see Emily through the windshield and opened the passenger side door. "Good afternoon." Luckily by now I was good at not showing how much I cringed every time she spoke.

"Hey." I got in and buckled. "How are you?"

"I'm well. Thank you. And yourself?" She turned left out of the parking lot and we were on our way.

"I'm good. The bed in the Presidential suit is extremely comfortable so I almost didn't want to get up. Where are we going to grab a bite to eat before you show me around town?"

"There's a little diner not far from here. It has the best food in town because it's an old 50's styled diner. So, I brought the teaching plans for tomorrow to see what you think for our H.G. Wells day." I tightened my jaw to keep myself from showing emotion towards the mentioning of H.G. This was a bad idea but I couldn't stop myself at this point.

"That sounds great. I've not had that kind of food in years. And The H.G. Wells idea sounds great." We pulled into the diner parking lot and walked in the door. I felt like I was transported back into the 1950's when we walked inside. Even the waitresses were dressed in 50's styled clothing. I followed Emily to a booth and sat across from her. "Wow, I feel like I took a time machine back to the 50's."

"Wait until you taste the food and sweet tea." Before I could say anything, a waitress walked up.

"Emily! How are you darlin'?" The woman was about five foot three or four inches tall with an average build. It was hard to tell by the heels she was wearing. "And who are you? I've never seen you before."

"This is Myka. She's staying in town on vacation for a few weeks." I smiled and said hello. "I'm well. I'm just enjoying this beautiful day outside. How are you Mary?"

"I'm doing just fine. It is a gorgeous day out." We placed our orders and the woman walked off.

"So I'll take it you come here a lot?" I leaned forward and folded my arms.

"Two or three times a week for either lunch or dinner. But I do come by here before school for their coffee every once in awhile." The woman brought our drinks and said that our food would be out soon. "They have the best food in town and the best apple pie too." I smiled at the apple pie reference. Pete would have come just for that.

"Well I can't wait to try it." There was a slight pause in our conversation. "So, what exactly will we be teaching tomorrow?"

"Well my students have read _The Time Machine_ and know that he invented things but that's about it. We've not dove far into the topic just yet." I tried not to chuckle when Emily referred to H.G. Wells as a he and not a she considering who she really was.

"That's a start. So you're giving me the floor for whatever I want to talk about basically?" Our food came and it smelled amazing. The bacon cheeseburger I got was smoked and tasted like a cookout type burger.

"Yes I'm giving you the floor." We ate and talked more about H.G. Wells. I was getting excited about tomorrow. Once we were done, after a slight "argument" we decided that she'd pay the bill and I'd leave the tip. Emily continued to show me where the school was and showed me around town more. Emily dropped me back at my hotel around five thirty. As I opened the car door I turned back around.

"Would you like to come up for dinner or a drink?" Emily looked at me slightly surprised. In my mind I knew this was a bad idea but my heart, brain, and mouth weren't working together. "I'll take your silence as a no. Okay…" I got out of the car and closed the door quickly.

"Myka, wait." I turned and leaned against the car. "I'd love to. The question just caught me off guard." She turned off the engine. "No one's ever asked me that before." I raised an eyebrow.

"No one? Ever?" I watched as she got out of the car.

"No. I'm just a school teacher who lives with a cat." A ping of pain went through me. That was as far from the truth as possible. She wasn't just a lonely cat lady.

"Well I don't think you're just a cat lady." I waved at the manager behind the desk as we walked in. "I went to the grocery store yesterday so I have a kitchen and fridge fully stocked. How do chicken and cheese fajitas sound for dinner?"

"That sounds lovely." We walked into my room and I believe Emily was slightly shocked. She looked around in amazement at the openness of the room. "Is that a…hot tub?" As she continued to look around I chuckled at the puzzled look on her face.

"Yes that is indeed a hot tub. I've not used it yet but plan to. I've not soaked in a hot tub in a long time." As I turned towards the oven I could swear I saw a slight blush on Emily's cheeks. "Take a seat and make yourself comfortable." Emily set her purse on the table by the door and took a seat at the bar. "Can I get you something to drink? I believe a nice white wine would go well with dinner."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I turned and raised an eyebrow. "You're treating me like we've known each other for years but we met two days ago." I had to think of something quick.

"You remind me of an old friend of mine." I gave her a small smile. "And you're just a nice person. I can read people well." She seemed to buy it. We continued to make some small talk as I cooked dinner. I knew Helena liked wine but apparently Emily didn't care too much for it. She scrunched her nose at the slight bitterness of it. We ate dinner and talked more about tomorrow. I was excited but I knew tomorrow would break my heart.

Emily left about eight and that's when I decided to lock up and take a dip in the hot tub. Since it was a private room, and I didn't have a bathing suit, I just stripped down and turned on the jets. There was some wine left so I poured the rest in a glass and set it to the side as I eased my way into the steamy bubbling liquid. The water felt amazing on my stiff muscles and I leaned back against one of the jets. I let myself relax and tilted my head back. As my mind wandered it wandered to Helena. I know I should be mad at her but I couldn't help it. I was upset but I still loved her.

Memories of us working together ran through my mind as my body became more relaxed. I remembered the time we were looking for the artifact that was killing those college boys. When we were going through the office she didn't know how to use a laptop. Nor did she know what it was exactly. And she was adorable when she saw a sticky note for the first time. A smile played at my lips as I remembered her words. And yes, I was coveting her grappler. I just wish it wasn't buried now. It was close to midnight when I decided to get out of the tub and go to bed. It was safe to assume that I'd be dreaming of Helena that night.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up relaxed and anxious at the same time. Today was when I went to talk about H.G. Wells to…H.G. Wells. As I got ready, I thought about what the Regents could've possibly done to make Helena forget who she was. Maybe if I talked about H.G. her memories would come back. It was a long shot to say the least. Emily's English class wasn't until one so I picked up some lunch for us and arrived early. The kids were filtering out of the room when I got there. "Hey." Emily turned from erasing the board and smiled.

"Hello." She saw the bag in my hand. "Lunch?" I walked in and placed the large, white, paper bag on her desk.

"For both of us. It's the least I could do for letting me come and teach your class for the class period." Emily pulled up a chair for me as I unloaded the food.

"Well thank you. Dinner was very good last night." I smiled and opened the box my salad was in.

"It was good and you're welcome." We ate in a comfortable silence. "Oh, you know the hot tub in the hotel?" Emily glanced at me with a nod. "It works like a charm if you have any stiff muscles." A light blush came across her cheeks. She looked so innocent.

"Well that's nice. I've never been in one before. Are they nice?" How sheltered was this Emily Lake?

"Very nice. If you have a swim suit you can come over and use mine." Before she could reply, students started to filter back in the room.

"Alright everyone," by now all the students were back in their seats. "We have a special guest today. This is Agent Myka Bering and she has come to talk about The Father of Science Fiction also known as H.G. Wells. Myka, the floor is yours."

"Thank you. So, Miss. Lake has told me that you've read _The Time Machine, _has anyone read anything else?" A few of the students told me the different books they've read but no one has read them all. Well, besides Emily and I. "H.G. wells was not only a fantastic writer sh…he…was also a great inventor." I had to watch what I said. To all of these people H.G. Wells was a man not a woman. That gave me an idea for later. "H.G. built a grappler gun," I pulled out a few pictures and passed that one around. "I've tried to rebuild it but to no avail. There was something H.G. did that weren't in the blueprints."

I continued to talk about H.G. and her inventions but I got a strange vibe coming from behind me. When I glanced back at Emily she had a confused and serious look on her face as she looked over the books and photos I brought. "How do you know all of this?" I gave my attention to Emily.

"It's a long, complicated story; one that couldn't be told in the remaining time of the class." I turned back towards the students. "Here's a topic of discussion for those of you who have read a few of the books; what would you say if H.G. Wells was really a woman?" This caught some of the students' attention.

"Myka…" I turned to look back at Emily who was pinching the bridge of her nose. She looks pale and in pain. Emily started to sway to the left and slid out of her chair.

"Emily!" I caught her before she hit the floor. "Someone get the school nurse." One of the students ran out of the room. "Emily!" I held her in my arms and her head leaned against my shoulder.

"Myka…" There was a tenderness in her voice; a tenderness that Helena had. Maybe my idea was working. "What's…." Her body went limp.

"What happened?" A taller woman with short, choppy blonde hair rushed into the room.

"She turned pale, got dizzy, and fell. She fainted about thirty seconds ago." My grip was protective over this woman.

"We need to take her to my office to lie down and keep an eye on her." The nurse studied me a moment. "Can you carry her?"

"Yes." I stood and placed my left arm behind Emily's knees to hold her up. Her head rested against my shoulder. "Uhm," I looked at her students and then at the clock. "You've only got twenty minutes left of class so you can either stay here and do homework or not. Just don't get in trouble." No one moved as the nurse and I walked out the door.

"Has this ever happened before?" It didn't take us long to get to the nurse's office.

"Not that I know of. I just met her a few days ago." The Nurse raised an eyebrow at me. "Long story."

"Well, nothing in her file about a medical issue. Has she eaten lately?"

"Yes. Right before class she had a salad with grilled chicken." The nurse and I went back and forth trying to figure something out. When we couldn't figure anything out, the nurse was called to take care of someone else.

"M-Myka?" I didn't realize that my hand was resting on her arm.

"Hey you. Are you starting to come around?" Emily covered her eyes with her arm.

"My head feels like a jackhammer is pounding against my skull. What happened?" I stood to turn off the lights. Emily let her arm rest across her stomach but still kept her eyes closed.

"I was teaching class and you turned pale and fainted. What were you thinking about before you passed out?"

"I wasn't thinking really. Flashes of me and you were coming to me. We working together and they became stronger when I saw the picture of the grappler. I'm scared Myka."

"Ssshhh I'm right here." I squeezed her hand gently. "We'll figure this out." I already knew what was happening. No matter what the Regents did to her our bond was stronger. She was coming back to me.

"Will you…stay with me tonight?" The question threw me off. "I trust you and don't want to be alone."

"Of course. I'll go by my hotel and get some clothes and meet you at your place."

XXX

When I arrived at Emily's apartment she answered the door hesitantly. I was glad to see that color had come back to her face some. "Feeling any better?" I walked in and she closed the door behind me.

"A little. Now that you're here I'm better." I jumped when I felt something rubbing against my leg. "Oh, this is Dickens." Emily picked up a medium sized gray cat.

"He's cute." I scratched his head and behind his ears. "Where can I put my bag?"

"In my room is fine. It's the door right across the living room." She tilted her head towards a closed door on the far side of the room. "I'm going to feed him. Make yourself at home." I smiled and took my bag to her room. It was a very nice apartment; well furnished and decorated. As I walked into her room I noticed the large bookcase. I couldn't help but walk towards it and let my fingertips brush along the old leather bindings. "There's a reason I'm an English teacher." I jumped and turned to see Emily leaning against the door frame.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop. It's just," I turned back to the bookcase, "you have so many books."

"No problem." She walked towards me and looked over the books with me. "It's taken me years to get all of these books. I had to track them down one by one." As I took a book out and flipped through it I stopped on a page. There was a note inside. I knew I recognized this book; it was the one I gave Helena because she couldn't find it anywhere. So the Regents let her keep all of her books when they did whatever they did. "What is it?"

"Uhm….small world I guess. I gave this book to an old friend of mine and now you have it." Emily looked over my shoulder as I opened the folded piece of paper. I smiled as I read the little note written on a sticky note. "The last book you could never find is now yours my friend. You saw this and were coveting it like I was coveting your grappler. Always, Myka" I smiled to myself as I remembered Helena's reaction when I gave her the book. She was so happy and fascinated by the sticky note.

"The friend that I reminded you of?" I just kept my eyes on the note and nodded. "Wait, she had a grappler?" I glanced at Emily from the corner of my eye. There was that confused look again. "Do we know each other?" Could I really tell her the truth?

"Hold this," I handed her the book. The second it touched her skin she froze. It looked like images were flashing before her eyes. "Emily?" She closed her eyes and blinked them open a few times. When she looked at me again there was something different in them. They were Helena's.


	4. Chapter 4

"Myka…" Joy filled my heart and shock did as well. She had a British accent again!

"Helena?" She looked at me and closed the book. It was her! She was back! "You're back!" I stepped close and wrapped her in a tight hug. When she hugged me back, a sigh of relief left me.

"Hello Myka." She took a deep breath in. "Thank you my friend." I chuckled and leaned back.

"You're welcome. What did the Regents do to you?"

"They used an artifact to take away my memories and replace them with new ones. Let's take a seat in the living room and I'll explain more." I followed H.G. and took a seat by her on the small couch. Dickens jumped on her lap and brushed his head against her. "Oh hello there." I chuckled because I knew that Helena wasn't a cat person. She explained to me what happened. "I wonder though, how you caused my memories to come back?"

"It's because the strong bond between the two of you." We both jumped and turned to see Mrs. Fredrick standing by the kitchen.

"How do you do that?" I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned back. She scared the daylights out of everyone when she does that. "What are you going to do to her?"

"Nothing. Ms. Wells is emotionally stable around you and she is still a brilliant agent. We are going to let her come back to the warehouse but she must stay with you."

"Thank you Mrs. Fredrick but I don't believe I'm welcome at the inn."

"You're not. Not by Artie anyway. Therefore, you and Miss. Bering will need to find a place together. But close enough to be able to do your job. You can keep the cat. The reason for you leaving your teaching job will be put in tomorrow. I will see the both of you back to work in a week." With that, she turned and walked out the door. Helena and I just watched slightly dumbfounded.

"Well….alright then. I guess we're roommates." I snorted at the tone of H.G.'s voice. "But I'd rather have you then someone else." I turned back and leaned on the couch. Life was good again. I had Helena back and she was coming to the warehouse. "What are you smiling about?" I turned my head towards her.

"Life is good." I sighed. "You're back." Helena smiled and cupped my cheek.

"You love me don't you?" I looked down and felt a blush cross my cheeks. "I love you too." My eyes shot to hers. "Our bond has been strong since the beginning and you know me better than anyone else. It took me a long time to figure out how to love someone again but you showed me. Why don't we take Dickens and spend the rest of our vacation in your hotel room? I'm sure the Regents will come move my things from here to an apartment you and I get." I smiled and leaned in to kiss her. Helena's lips were so soft and just what I imagined they'd be.


End file.
